Anatomy of a Gargoyle
by KappaAndKitsune
Summary: Bri is a talented scientist that has found herself with a bounty on her head, a gargoyle that she may like too much, and an aggressive fairy that will not leave her alone.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Of course, I do not own any rights to any part of the Gargoyles franchise. This writing is not for profit and is only to try to entertain myself and, hopefully, entertain others. Also, this story will get smutty and will contain strong language.

This story starts in mid-1995.

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Brianna felt more at home in New York than she ever did in the South-West. She loved Texas, but New York was less restrictive, not to say less judging. It was just different, and she loved it. Despite the cost.

Bri always loved Goth culture. Even before she it was easier to access the Goth lifestyle accoutrements, she had found a way and was dressing in corsets and too much eyeliner in high school. However, at the age of 32, she was beginning to think that she had become too professional for her non-traditional choices. Overtime she had slowly integrated into what was acceptable during the day, only to adorn and express herself afterhours in the night. This was acceptable until she was on the news for her gene editing studies that allowed mice to undergo photosynthesis. To her surprise, shortly after she was spotted in her alternative clothing by someone who happened to be a fellow scientist and panicked. It shouldn't have bothered her. But it did. Especially after reading their expression. Even in New York, people were not always accepting.

Bri synched her corset and shuffled her way out of her large by New York standards apartment to go to her favorite Goth club. She wondered if it would be one of the last times she would go every time she went.

Dan, Carol, Chris, and Tristen were already at The Nightingale when she arrived for Friday night shenanigans. They were the type of couples that she hoped she would become someday. Dan and Carol had been married since high school, childless, and totally amazing. Bri loved going to their apartment just a few minutes away and being served the most amazing dishes and drinks. Chris and Tristen had been together longer than any straight couple she knew and were the most loving. Tristen has made all Bri's corsets and was starting to become rather recognized for many of his artistic passions from clothing to photographs. Chris played in the stock market and did very, very well, but now is a stay at home dad for Tristen's niece. They had everything but legally adopted Willow. She wished that Tristen could formally gain custody, but it was never that easy. Especially for a homosexual couple.

"Hello, my bitches!" Bri yelled with a huge smile as she approached their table, quickly provided drink in hand.

"Hello~, my darling," Chris' voice resonated above the others, "I was starting to think you were not going to be able to make it!"

Bri sat down in her normal place, only for Tristen to busy himself fixing her hair.

"You must have been in a rush, weren't you?" Carol asked.

"Thanks guys," Bri said with an edge in her voice, "Since last week I have been trying to not be seen by Dr. Levin again. Now that I know he lives in this neighborhood…" Bri trailed off.

"Oh please," Dan harshly stated, "Get over yourself. No one cares. You can do whatever the fuck you want to do."

There was not point arguing with them. They didn't have to live in her work world and she didn't live in theirs. Chris gave a knowing smile as he was the closest one to understand her predicament.

Artists.

"It doesn't matter tonight." Carol said, "Let's us revel in the night!"

It seemed one of her friends' favorite pastimes was the threat and execution of setting Bri up with potential suiters. Though Bri loved the Goth style and thought process, she wasn't a big fan of most Goth men. Though she considered herself a New Yorker now, she was still a transplant and she still like certain "Old School" qualities in men. These were not typically found in the men that her friends have tried to set her up with. Most of them were selfish, afraid of bugs, never looking up from their phone, spent more time in the mirror than she, or just plain arrogant and rude. Despite their low success rate, they would still try.

"Hey, you like big guys, right?" Carol leaned over to Bri in a drunken state, whispering as if she could be heard through the music. "Look. The trench coat guy is here again!"

"Yeah, he is probably not wearing anything underneath like a perv." Bri said dryly.

"I've seen your hentai collection, hoe. I still don't even want to know how you got those." Carol giggled as she leaned in closer, "Hmm, I hope he isn't wearing anything underneath."

Tristen looked up, not knowing the full contents of the exchange, "Oh! It's Trench Coat! Bri-bri, isn't that your type? Viking tall, brother and lumberjack big for the winter?" He winked with a wicked smile.

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus," Bri's Southern accent slipping out as she slammed her hands on the table, "Y'all best hush your mouth already! Y'all are NOT allowed to try to set me up ever again, y'hear?! Enough of this."

"Ohhh~" all her friend said in unison, eyes wide.

"I say we hit a nerve," Chris mimicked his lover's tone, "Oh let's go talk to him! He has been coming in a while! What is his story anyway?!" After a few minutes of harassment and unsuccessful attempts at subject change, Bri knew she had no choice.

"Ok, fine! I know where this is going. I will go and talk to him and y'all will respect me if there is nothing there, got it?!" Bri was almost shrill with the memory and anxiety of the last set up her friends forced her on. They love her, she knows that, but they could be insensitive. Maybe she just needed to toughen' up?

Her group cheered and became too excited as Bri stood up from the table. "Oh, by the way, to punish you fuckers, Carol and I will be discussing our periods in extreme details and y'all best listen!"

Bri took pleasure in the lowering of excitement as she left the table because they all knew she meant it. Carol just cackled.

Bri wanted another drink, so that was what she was going to do. She nervously approached the bar as the dark music played.

"Marla! May I have another one of your specialty yuzu-mint drinks, please Ma'am? I can't get enough of it!" Bri called to the sweet old lady behind the bar. Marla smiled and nodded. Bri turned to Trench Coat and immediately felt tiny.

"Boy-howdy, I tell you what!" Bri said before losing courage or gaining sense as her eyes followed the man's huge hands up to his head as he sat in the bar stool, "How big are you?! You look like a tree!"

The man wore a fedora that cast a shadow on his face, but Bri blushed at his masculine facial features that she could make out in the dark room. "Oh," Trench Coat said softly, "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, Sir," Bri said nervously only to backtrack, "I'm sorry to bother you if you are not interested in talking with anyone. I understand that." Her heart beat in her throat as she spoke to him.

"No, no." Trench Coat replied only facing her partially, fidgeting with the glass in his hands, "I don't mind at all. Just surprised. I'm not good at speaking to new people." His voice was much kinder and not as deep as Bri had expected it to be.

"Oh," Bri slightly smiled, happy with his honesty, "Neither am I! I feel a little better to be honest. My name is Brianna Hord, but my friends call me Bri." She stuttered on, "Um, my friends and I come here frequently and have noticed you have been here quite a bit as well. We thought it would be a shame to not introduce ourselves to you." Bri was happy to lean on her friends. They may have essentially forced her into contact, but at least she could retreat to them if needed.

The trench coat clad gentleman turned to her, expression unseen, and turned to the mirror behind the bar.

"Actually, I've noticed all of you, too, but I am not very good with new people." He began to trail off.

"Oh! Then don't worry about it!" Bri said almost interrupting him. "I really don't like pressuring people into anything." She laughed nervously and turned towards the bar.

Trench Coat cleared his throat. "I like your poetry. I heard you speak last month."

Bri nearly jumped out of her skin, "Oh! I'm horrible! I'm no artist but I felt I needed to express myself every now and then." Bri looked down at her hands nervously. "Thank you for listening, though." Her heart was pounding, and she could hardly stand it. What was wrong with her?!

Trench Coat laughed, "Everyone is their worst critic," he paused, "Well, most of the time."

Bri immediately laughed and turned to look at him, "I know, right?! People are so mean these days and for no other reason but to be mean." He was looking directly at her with a smile. They made eye contact for the first time. She bit her lip in surprise at her reaction.

"Do you write poetry?"

"Oh, a little, but really I'm a consumer." His voice becoming less tense.

"Who do you like?" Bri became excited to ask. Trench Coat seemed to consider the question for a moment and replied, "Shakespeare."

Marla placed the drink on the bar in the artful way that she was known.

"Hey, I'm not picky, you should really try this drink," Bri told Trench Coat after thanking Marla profusely, "I study all sorts of things and a little inoculation might make me stronger!"

Trench Coat gave her a confused, blank expression that was sweet in a way. "Huh?" was all that he allowed.

Bri laughed at herself and his cute reaction to her word dump, "You're cute," she slipped. "What I mean is, drink some of this awesome drink. It is so light and refreshing. Marla is a genius. Literally! She was an organic chemist for the army during WWII! She was even captured by the Russians, once!" Bri was an excitable person, despite being Goth, and she feared that she might have overdone it for this guy. However, when she looked up at him, she was taken aback. His body language mimicked her excitement, and a gentle smile crossed his face.

"Okay," he almost whispered, "I would love to try." Bri pushed the glass towards him and his oversized hand pick the glass up with a 'ting' sound. Bri found herself really wanting to see him in brighter conditions. He lifted the glass up to his lips, avoiding the straw, and took a small sip out of it.

"Woah!" his voice was louder than before, "This is amazing!"

"Hey now! You hardly drank enough to really taste it," Brianna said with excitement, not actually knowing how much he drank, "Here, you should drink more!" Trench Coat gladly accepted her offer and drank a health serving of it, leaving the glass with more ice than drink. Bri was so happy that he liked it.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to dri-," Trench Coat, visibly upset, placed the drink back on the bar.

"Don't worry about it, cowboy!" Bri said in a buzzed state, "I'm just so happy to have shared something nice with a kindred spirit!" Brianna picked up the drink and downed it and Trench Coat made a slight noise.

"Kindred spirit?" Trench Coat questioned.

"Oh yeah!" Bri uncharacteristically patted him on his iron pipe feeling arm, "I can totally tell!" After realizing what she was doing, she quickly turned back to the bar, blushing.

"Want another, Bri?" Marla inquired in a sultry voice, making Bri jump.

"Oh please, Ma'am! I'd appreciate it." Bri looked down at her hands while she waited.

"Please allow me to pay for your next drink," Trench Coat's voice soft again. He looked up and Marla nodded.

"You don't have to do that, ah" Bri trailed off as she watched him pull money out of his wallet.

"I really need to be going but maybe we will get to meet here, again? Soon?" Trench Coat placed cash on the bar and began to stand up. "I'm really glad you came and talked to me, though. It…can get lonely."

"I didn't mean to scare you off!" Bri said, surprised at her panic.

"Oh, you didn't. I just really need to get going."

"Oh, okay." Bri looked down at her hands. "Um, if it is okay to ask, you haven't told me your name." He stood up tall, his strong, pultruding jaw highlighted in the light behind him.

He chuckled a little, "I'll tell you next time." He then left the bar as if he could float.

Marla placed the fresh drink gently on the table, "He'll be back, girly. Can't say I've ever seen this side of you." Bri snapped towards her, beet red. Not that anyone could likely tell.

"Thank you for the drink." was all she could muster. Her heart fluttered, and she felt almost dizzy from the exchange.

When she turned around to her friends' table, she nearly jumped out of her skin from the four pairs of eyes. After a short pause and glare, she sat down to their sarcastic cheering.

"Good job, you chased him off," Dan laughed as Carol glared at him.

"Why did he leave? Are you okay?" Her eyes searching Bri's face for distress.

"I think he just had to get going, but he does seem incredibly shy." Bri said with a sigh. "I hope I didn't chase him away. He said he wanted to talk again. Still don't know his name, which was kind of weird. Y'all just need to stop tryin' to set me up an' puttin' me in these annoying situations!"

Between sounds of protest and heckling, Chris leaned forward and said, "First of all, don't listen to Dan and secondly, we are just wanting you to complete our group already!" He rubbed her back.

Bri smiled but a weird irritation and self-doubt feeling sat like a rock in her chest. She began to agonize if she actually had chased him away and why had she felt such a connection with him.

The rest of the night was filled with dancing, drinking, poetry, social commentary, and fart jokes. Bri loved her friends and was determined to get lost in their fun. At the end of the night, they hugged and kissed like family, and said their goodbyes, all heading different directions.

Bri had a good buzz as she approached a rather deserted, dark area of her walk home. With phone in hand and this area never a concern before, she continued to walk, not hyper-focused on her surroundings.

"Hey freaky," a voice called behind her, "you interested in a party?" Bri glanced over her shoulder enough to see three men starting to walk towards her. Her body reacted before her mind did as she took off running as fast as her high heeled Victorian styled boots would allow her. Showing their ill intent, the three men chased her not even bothering with any other communication. Her breathing was limited as her movement due to her clothes, but it wouldn't have mattered, she had never been the fastest runner. At 5' 6'', all she could hope for was finding people.

"Hey girl," a voice said right next to her, "why are you running away? All we want to do is talk." Bri became so startled that she tripped over her own foot and fell hard on the ground. The three men laughed as they surrounded her. One of the men made a production of finding her phone that she had dropped during her fall. "Oh, doll! You dropped your phone!" He then proceeded to smash it her brand-new clamshell on the ground.

"Just leave me alone! I don't know you are!" Bri yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Let me help you up, sweetie," said the man that had caught up to her first. He reached down and aggressively grabbed a handful of hair. As he pulled her up by her hair, she screamed. The other two men smiled at her struggle as one busied himself slipping on a pair of leather gloves.

"Help! Fire! I don't know you! I DON'T KNOW YOU!" She continued to yell with all her might, resisting the pain of her hair being pulled. He was finally able to jerk her to her feet, but she nearly collapsed in pain due to her ankle and let out another yelp.

"Shut up!" the gloved man yelled, eyes red from some substance. The three men pulling her up while Bri resisted being made to mobile. Bri stared at the first man with the greatest anger she had ever felt. He had straw blonde hair and sky blue eyes that looked empty and cold.

"FUCK YOU!" she screamed. "FIRE! FIR…"

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Bri looked up, unable to move. She heard wind blowing hard in her ears as she tried to make sense of all the sensations in her body. The pain, the sound, the weight of her body, the wind. Light from below gave an eerie glow. Her eyes drifted to the night sky.

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She woke up to Tristen, Carol, and Dan sitting in what looked like a hospital. Tristen flipping through the most recent edition of _Propaganda_ , Carol sitting with head against her knees, and Dan looking out the window. She must have made a noise because all three of them turned to her at the same time.

"Oh, sweetie! You're awake!" Tristen ran to her side and kissed her forehead. Carol and Dan ran to the other side. Bri looked at Carol with confusion. "Carol, you look like you have been crying," Bri's throat hurt so bad that what she had said hardly came out. Carol broke out into full tears. Bri reached for her throat just in time for the real pain to start. Everything hurt. She began to move and yelped from the pain. The heart monitors began to scream as nurses came in quickly.

She woke up several hours later to Chris was reading a large novel.

"Holy shit. It's alive." Chris got up and took her hand.

"Chris," she said with a hoarse voice, "what happened? You look like crap."

"I look like crap? Cute. You had a rough night. We called your work and told them you were not likely going to be there on Monday, which is tomorrow by the way." Chris paused. "You just missed everybody. I relieved them." Bri heard a toilet flush. "Is she awake?!" a familiar voice called from the bathroom. After a quick sink sound, Bri's mother, Dee, rushed out and held her daughter tightly.

"What were you thinking?!" Her mom scolded with out wasting time, "Walking by yourself at 2 in the morning?! If you were in Texas, this wouldn't have happened! You wouldn't have been out, walking like that. You would have had a _gun_!"

"What happened?" was all Bri was able to push out.

Chris began speaking before Dee could say anything that would upset Bri even more. "You were attacked by a group of men." Chris simply stated.

Bri gasped remembering what happened. How far did they go?

"How did I get here? How did y'all know I was here?" Bri asked shakily.

"Well, a very nice young lady, a police detective by the name of Ms. Maza, happened to be in the area and drove you here in her police car. She wasn't able to catch them or get a good look at them, but they have some suspects from other witnesses." Chris had let go of her hand and her mother held more tightly.

"You weren't raped," her mother said quickly, "you were saved before they could go that far but they did knock you out." They were silent. Bri's mother was always good at getting to the point but not always good with tact.

"They caught some men that they think are the suspects. One of the men caught had your ID in his pocket. Detective Maza told us to let you know that you will need to identify them if you can." Chris rubbed his head. "I am still not sure who called Carol, but she was the first to find out. The call came from a nurse at the hospital. Your phone is trashed, by the way. And evidence, apparently."

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The next day, Bri was let out of the hospital with a cast for a hairline fracture in her tibia and thankfully enough pain medicine to knock out an elephant. Her mother cursed during the stupidly long drive to Bri's apartment. Her father, who had been overseas on a business trip, was checking into a hotel that was a block away from Bri's tiny apartment. Bri was grateful to be home but was mortified at her parents seeing her messy apartment full of clutter that she never dusted. Her mom kept a house so clean that you could eat off the floor, but her mom didn't say anything.

Bri cut into the steak that her dad had grilled. Her dad was a food snob in his own sense and bought a fancy outdoor grill for her balcony. It was completely unnecessary, but there was no explaining that to her father.

"Now," Bri's mother said with authority, "when we go to the police station tomorrow, I picked up a large gift basket for Ms. Maza. We owe that young lady your life." Dee began to cry and her father patted his wife's back, fighting his own tears.

"We will drive you there," her mother continued after clearing her voice. "Oh God, why do you just come home with us?" Bri began to speak but her mother interrupted her, "I know, you have a career here. And this closet to live in that costs you ungodly amounts of money a month."

"Ouch, mom," Bri said without energy.

"We miss you, baby. This has been the biggest scare of our entire life." She felt so tiny as she looked at her dad. "And you," he continued, "are our greatest treasure, you know?"

"Dinner is really good, daddy." Bri nearly cried.

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Despite her unimposing size, Detective Elisa Maza was a woman that commanded the room. Bri's father would comment later that she had a good, respectable handshake, which was the kind of complement that meant a lot coming from her father.

Bri was overwhelmed by her parents by this point. Not only had her mother been fussing over her all night, but she also fussed all over her apartment. Then, after fussing over the gift basket, the gift basket had to be checked for security reasons which meant some minor disassembly, to her mother's frustration. Finally, her typically calm father was getting more and more on edge, staring down anyone who accidently made eye contact with the 6'5'' man.

Detective Maza met them in a private room and thanked them for the gift. "Mr. and Mrs. Hord," Detective Maza said, "I would like to speak with Brianna privately, if you don't mind waiting in the waiting area." Detective Maza pointed to a little area with about 10 chairs.

Bri's mother began to protest but her father quickly said, "Baby, if you need us, we will be just right there." Her father took her mother by the hand as she turned back to Bri with desperate eyes. All Bri could do was give a weak wave as they shut the door behind them.

Detective Maza sighed and turned all her attention to Bri.

"I hope it is alright that I asked them to leave." Detective Maza said softly, "This is a difficult enough subject without added interjections, but if want them in here, there are no rules against it."

"Thank you, I might ask them to come in later, but I think this is best for now." Bri said while rubbing her bruised throat. The detective considered her for a moment.

After going through and documenting Bri's statement, Detective Maza switched gears.

"Would you like to know all the information that I know about your case?" Detective Maza opened a file with an air of calm and authority.

"Yes, Ma'am." Bri stopped rubbing her throat and slowly placed her hand on the table.

"You were attached by a group of men that are a part of an up and coming gang called The Challengers. As you can guess, part of what they do is come up with or get paid for offenses to put fear into the public. Those that are successful and make the news, get rewards." Detective Maza pulled a map out of the file showing the current area that The Challengers were known to be. Bri furrowed her brow. A strange ball of confusion, helplessness, and pure rage turned in her stomach.

"I don't understand. How do they make money like that?" Bri hoarsely coughed.

"Most of their ventures are underground, but they have their reasons for the aggression." Detective Maza opened a turned to a small TV with her remote that was placed on the edge of the table. The video began to play with a grainy figure wearing a laced corset running. She pressed mute as the loud sound of heavy breathing and running matched the shaky footage.

"There is a lot of these kinds of videos sold on the internet or are commissioned by seedy types. There are people that pay good money for it." Detective Maza watched Bri closely and, with kindness, opted to stop the video.

"How did I end up in the hospital? How did you find me?" Bri almost breathlessly asked.

"Anonymous calls. You have a good set of lungs on you. I was on my way to another crime scene and heard the dispatch. Being only a block away, I quickly took action. They went running as soon as they saw me." Ms. Maza paused and considered Bri for a moment. "I was not able to catch them but was able to get you to the hospital." The detective was about to continue when a knock on the door interrupted the conversation. "Maza," a large man peered into the room, "we need you for a moment." He politely turned to Bri and acknowledged her with a nod, to which Bri weakly smiled back.

Through non-verbal apology and forgiveness, Detective Maza stood up and hurried out the door, not forgetting to turn off the TV. Bri sat, digesting what was told to her for a few moments, when she gingerly slid the folder on the table towards her. The details written in the folder were a mixture of typed and handwritten notes, but it was a photo that startled her the most. One of the men had been tied with something metallic from a lamp-post. She heard Detective Maza's voice outside the door and she slid the file back into place.

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The line-up process was gut wrenching, but she easily identified two of the men without their voice and the third off a phrase they quoted from her statement. They had been at Precinct 23 for hours, speaking to several different officers along the way. Bri was exhausted in every which way by the time she left, but she was happy that her assault had been solved so nicely. She was so thankful for Detective Maza and gave the woman a big hug before leaving. Bri hobbled out of the police station, still not used to crutches while her father brought the car around. While waiting, she felt the need to look up at the now dark sky and felt overwhelmed by the tall buildings.


	2. Chapter 2

"I get my cast off in two weeks" was the song of the day as she clanked around the halls up to her lab. She had a small lab but because most of her work was done in a rated clean room, she was having difficulty doing much bench work. This was actual a blessing, as she really needed to stop depending on the lab manager to write the bulk of the grants. He hardly took anytime to comb his hair when he was writing grants. Her lab was small with a lab manager and two research scientist, both of which had been at NYU longer than she. She was getting offers of funding from VC firms and pharmaceutical companies to environmentalist lobbies. She even had a meeting with a representative from Xanatos Enterprises the following week. It was very overwhelming for the 'young scientist'. It was an exciting time but also a fearsome one. Her research did not get the best reactions from certain religious groups. It had been weeks since she had gotten to dress up and go to The Nightingale, and for some reason that occupied her thoughts more than her research. She love science, but she was needing a break.

"You are not turned off going out?" Carol asked one night as they lounged on her huge balcony. Carol was a published ex-chef, food critic, frequent guest author on several publications, and all around self-proclaimed and promoted, 'cause of all things evil.' She adjusted eclectic shawl that she probably acquired in one of her many adventures overseas as she leaned in her $1000 comfy outdoor armchair. Dan joined them with fresh drinks in hand. "Maladies, your drinks." Dan leaned down and kissed Carol's forehead, pushing her thick curly, red hair out of the way.

The group had taken to hanging out at Dan and Carol's since the incident, which was fine because it gave Bri more time to play with three-year-old, Willow. Tristen, however, still made regular visits to The Nightingale as well as other goth and alternative culture escapes. This was part of his business. He was about to open a store and was promoting as best as he could. Chris and Tristen came in with Willow in tow during Carol and Bri's conversations. Bri had a large portion of her cast that had be 'arted' on by Willow and had taken several pictures of the cast's art evolution.

"No, I'm not turned off going to The Nightingale. It is largely your fault for finding Marla, Carol." Bri joked.

"Speaking of Marla," Tristen called as if he had been there the whole time, "she has been asking about you every night I go in. She misses you. Everyone missed you." Tristen pushed a heavy pause with a dramatic motion, "And. I _do_ mean everyone." Dan poured them drinks in the outdoor kitchen area as Chris started to prep some snacks for everyone. Everyone chipped in, except for Bri and Carol. Bri felt her ears burn red as she turned to study Tristen's body language. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, Mr. Trench Coat has been asking about you. You know, I thought he was a brotha but I am not quite sure." Tristen regarded his eyebrows in the kitchen's reflective surfaces with a jaunty motion. "He is hard to catch in real light."

"Makes me suspicious. What is he trying to hide?" Chris growled through 2 inches of pale makeup and eyeliner. Willow had walked over to Bri with a bag full of dolls, cars, toy horses, coloring books, and crayons and proceeded to spill it everywhere next to Bri's lounging chair, immediately causing a roar of laughter by Bri. Willow studied cast and decided it was time to add to her creation.

"Yay! It's time to art on Aunt Bri!" Bri smiled at the tiny girl. Her jet-black hair was up in two poof pig tails with her red polka-dot dress and tights, she looked like a little model. She regarded Bri with her wide caramel eyes, "Yes, and it will be much better after today." Willow said with authority. "I have inspiration."

"Wow," Bri exclaimed as she held back the urge to squeeze the cuteness out of Willow, "and what is your inspiration today?" Willow looked up with an exasperated expression, "Aunty Bri, I will tell you when. I. Am. _Finished_."

"Oh! Well, I am terribly sorry. I do not wish to interrupt our little Picasso!"

"Frida Kahlo." Willow corrected to the verbose delight of Carol.

As they snacked, Willow finished her art and ate her supper when the conversation turned back to The Nightingale.

"Well, if you are okay with going out again, I will insist that we get a taxi for you or we walk you." Carol said with a piercing tone. "I know you don't want to spend money on things like that and I know that you would rather walk, but that was too close."

Willow had climbed into Bri's arms and Bri pulled a throw around them. The outdoor gas fireplace let off a pleasant soft heat. Dan leaned against the balcony railing. The city light lending an eerie glow. "I agree. None of us would be able to handle it if you were hurt again. Especially when it could have been avoided."

"I don't think you will get hurt again." Willow said in Bri's arms. Willow played with Bri's the long necklace, considering every bead. Everyone turned to the little muse as her eyes became heavy.

"Why do you say that, sweetie?" Bri asked, getting sleepy herself from Bri's warmth.

Willow let a large yawn out, "The night angel is always around, so I think you will be okay."

"Night angle?" multiple voice said at the same time followed by laughter.

"I saw him tonight, too." Willow fell asleep before saying much more. Bri ignored the murmurs as she looked out to the skyline.

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Bri had to opt for a business skirt as she waited for the representative from Xanatos Enterprises to arrive. This was not her favorite option, but with the cast, she really had no choice. To give herself confidence, she wore her corset underneath her light blue button up shirt, which she quickly regretted as dealing with crutches in a corset wasn't the easiest thing. She did, however, nothing to her hide her colorful cast. Several respectable groups had approached her lab shortly after her research made it into _Nature_ and then even more once a high-level review with her interview was published in _Popular Science_. However, it wasn't until the 60 minutes interview that she started to get major interest. Fortunately, and unfortunately, that was when the NYU lawyers started giving real guidance.

Bri could not help but hear and rehear the drool and off-topic questions that the interviewer kept asking. "You are a beautiful woman. Is it difficult to be taken seriously in your field?" "How do you feel about those who call your research a crime against humanity?" "Do you think that you are going against God?" "When you hear people say that animals are meant to eat food, not _do_ photosynthesis. What do you think?" " _Are_ you religious?"

Ugh! Her frustration built up just thinking about it. They had no idea how hard she had worked on hundreds of gene targets, hundreds of novel gene editing techniques, and then the proofreading techniques, not to even mention the modified sugar transport systems she used bacterial genes to create! She had essentially started this research during her undergraduate career, which was half of her life! This was her art, her dedication. This was her life! And they ask such asinine, insulting questions! It was not like she was going to get a bunch of money and turn around tomorrow and make humans not need to eat! Even the various animal models still needed food, just not as much and the associated health problems were nothing to ignore. The benefits were nothing to ignore, either…

After clearance with the lawyers for Xanatos Enterprises to have a tour of the lab, which took months, Bri was not going to let her passion make her look too excitable. She hobbled into the small lab and her staff were visibly on edge. Jun, her lab manager, stood wearing shiny loafers, freshly pressed slacks, a collared shirt buttoned up to the last button, and a heavily starched lab coat.

"Dude." Was all Bri could say. "You…you look good!" He normally wore cargo pants with holes and Nirvana t-shirts. "Are you wearing contacts?!" Jun nodded without saying a word.

"Ah. Well," she turned to everyone, "okay guys, the Xanatos rep will be here in about 15-30 minutes. Don't worry about it." Bri looked at Sarah and Cades' faces. Cade looked board and Sarah looked excited. Turning to Jun worried her as Jun looked like he was going throw up.

"Don't worry about it?!" Sarah was almost jumping up and down, "This is HUGE! I mean, like, this is THE Xanatos! We could, you know, be famous or something!"

"Didn't they send someone to us because we have kind of become famous?" Cade gave a sideways look to Sarah.

"Listen," Sarah tone turned cold, "I don't know what you want to do with your life, but I want a shot to do research that could put me in with a Nobel Prize. No, offence Bri, but you don't have the blood line, well yet. However, Xanatos E. has enough Nobel Prize laureates on their staff to make Harvard balk. Everyone knows that if you want to get a Nobel, you have to go through the hoops and have the laboratory blood line." Bri just smiled. "I will support you the best that I can to help you reach your goals. Unfortunately, a Nobel is not one of mine. Nor, my friends, is it my plan to suck corporate cock."

All three of her staff turned to her with a strange expression.

Bri turned to Jun.

"Jun, are you going to be okay to show the representative around the animal facility?" Jun looked down towards Bri in almost a robotic fashion. "I can't easily suit up in there, so I don't plan on going in during the tour."

"Mochiron desu!" he said a little too loud in Japanese. "I mean, of course." He stiffly turned around to his desk at the end of his personal lab bench and opened a lab note book. Which. He only stared at.

"Grreat! Well, like I said guys," she turned away from Jun because he was making her nervous, "There is nothing to worry about. If they want to work with us, they have likely already decided that. Either way, beer is on me tonight!"

Cade's eye brightened, Sarah squealed, and Jun's back straightened up.

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About 10 minutes later, she heard a knock on her office door. "Please come in!" she called in excitement. As she struggled to get up from her chair in her cast, she looked up to be greeted by a very stoic, intimidating man. His stone blue eyes almost startled her. A strange feeling washed over her and she paused a few seconds longer than what was socially acceptable.

"Please, do not feel that you need to stand." The blond man said with a deadpan voice, looking at her cast. Bri was shaken out of the seconds long trance.

"Oh! I would not be a proper southerner if I did not give you a welcoming hand shake!" Bri almost tripped over herself as she extended her hand, determined to recover what she deemed as awkwardness with a respectable handshake.

Once their hand touched, Bri had to focus all her might on shaking as her fingers felt like she was touching electricity. Something was truly not right about him. He was overwhelming somehow. He seemed to notice her strange behavior and a bit of animation leaked into his voice. "It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Dr. Hord. My name is Owen Burnett. I am essentially David Xanatos, CEO and President of Xanatos Enterprise's, personal assistant. Please, here is my card."

"Thank you," Bri said with a smile, gingerly taking the card and regarding it, "Oh. I surely did not expect someone of your level to come to my humble lab. Here is my card, and please call me Bri. Thank you for taking your time to come." Despite his intimidating nature, Bri was very confident in her work, if nothing else. "They came to me" was the mantra in her head.

"Alight then, Bri." Mr. Burnett said with a slight change in his tone and smirk. After a few awkward moments of standing, "Ah, please have a seat." Bri motioned to two cushioned chairs that looked like they were from the '70s as she shut the door.

"If I may ask, how did you break your leg?"

Bri grimaced, "I was attached by a gang, near central park. But I am okay."

"That is horrible. I am sorry to hear that."

Bri just smiled. "It was a random act. I am just lucky that Detective Maza was there and that I was taken to the hospital so quickly. It could have been much worse."

Mr. Burnett became very interested, "A Ms. Eliza Maza?"

"Oh, you know her?!" Bri said with the heaviest accent. "Boy, howdy! I tell you what, this is a small world!" Mr. Burnett coolly smiled, "Boy, howdy, I would agree." They both laughed, and tension seemed to ease a little. Though Bri did not trust this sap-sucker as far as she could throw him.

"So, how do you know Detective Maza?"

"Oh, she has been very helpful for us in the past as well. She is a very honorable person." Bri nodded in agreement. "We also run similar circles, so we meet on a regular basis."

"Oh, well, if you see her please tell her I said hello!" Bri's smile was starting to hurt her face.

"Well," she sat up as her hands slapped her legs in a 'let's get to business motion', "you are here to get a look at my lab?"

"Yes, I am. I will be honest, I was expecting a much larger lab."

"Well, at the current stage of research, most of our work is not performed in this lab but in the animal facility across the building. Also, I like to make sure my researchers have the most up to date technology and equipment. In fact, we have quite a bit of our instrumentation is from your company. Grant money isn't a garneted thing. I have a good team here, so I try to be conservative in order to take care of them."

"I did see some of our products." Mr. Burnett replied flatly.

"I have a question for you, if I may, Mr. Burnett." Bri leaned back in her chair, placing her hands in her lap, "I am simply taken aback that someone of your level has come to pay us a visit. I thought I was going to meet a manager of one of your many R&D branches. If I recall, I was supposed to meet a Dr. Anton Sevarius."

Mr. Burnett unnervingly mimicked her body language, "Initially that was the plan, but during an executive level management review, Mr. Xanatos determined that it would be best to get a more trusted view of you and your lab."

"Why is that?" Bri said without any additives for politeness.

"Well, much of your work aligns or could align with our internal research. Partnering with you could be a large boon for both of us. In fact, we would like to buy your research outright. However, not even NYU can force you to do that."

"What do you mean by 'buy us out'?" Bri turned serious.

"This would mean that you and your team would continue to do research, but your lab could be at Xanatos Enterprises. That is part of the reason that we wanted to see your lab in person. To know what you are working with and offer you better."

"Well, I suppose it doesn't hurt to talk." Bri said with a weak smile. "But, I will not waste your time. The research goes where I go, and my name goes on all my patents. I am not going to _sell_ it flat out. I didn't even know you could do that. Further, if I were to work in your facility, it would be with my conditions. Now, if you are still interested in continuing, the tour, I will be happy to oblige. However, please to not misunderstand. I am not despite to work with your group."

"But of course, we do not intend to force you into anything. We are willing to negotiate." Mr. Burnett said with a regard that felt forced.

"Well, great, let's get on with the tour." Bri said as she got up.

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After working through the motions of Jun's confusion and obvious glee that Bri wanted to go into the facility with the guest and the long process of getting suited up and adjusting the clean room crutches, Bri was frustrated. Her lab's animal facility consisted of five different labs with three different basic models. During the tour, Jun spoke and Bri observed.

"Some of our models are immuno-compromised due to the genes we had to knock out to prevent an autoimmune response, so all of our colonies have their own air supply and we heavily monitor them to ensure that they are as comfortable and healthy as possible. We even give them toys." Jun was getting in the groove.

During part of the tour, one of the animal facility's managers interrupted the meeting. "Dr. Watanabe, can I speak to you for a moment about some of your recent requests?"

"Of course," Jun said after non-verbally checking with Bri. The two left the room for a moment.

"This is very state of the art." Mr. Burnett said in earnest. "And from what I can see, not all of your fellow labs have the same level of tech."

"That is true. It is kind of our pride. Most of our money is spent here. With my research, there really is no other option but to use animals, but I want to treat them as best as possible. Also, we must be very careful with the immuno-suppressed specimens." He nodded while listening.

Something had been bothering Bri during the whole tour. A hair on Mr. Burnett's face. She couldn't ignore it! It was a long hair that followed his temple to jaw. She was slightly embarrassed because it did not look like a hair that could have possibly have been his, as his hair was short and blonde. It looked dark in the light-controlled room. Maybe it was one of her long brown hairs. Maybe she didn't cover properly and when they went into the air shower one of her hairs stuck to his face, and with the face mask and hair net, he couldn't tell?

"Hey, can I fix something that has been bothering me? You have something on your face." Bri did not want him to get to a mirror and wonder why no one had the balls to say anything.

"Oh, thank you." Mr. Burnett said, automatically touching his face with his gloved hands.

"Lean over a little, you're too tall." She laughed trying to ease tension.

He did as he was instructed but looked straight at her as he did.

"It's right on the side." She timidly reached up to his face as his eyes bore into her. Her heart was beating so fast. ' _What is wrong with me?!_ ' she questioned herself. Upon closer inspection, it did not look like a hair but a line. She squinted as she reached with one finger to try to pull or wipe it off. In deep concentration, she had hobbled closer to him as she began brush away at the line. Once she did, Mr. Burnett's eyes widened, and he grabbed her small wrist. With hardly any effort, he pulled her even closer to him.

"If you had wanted to get closer to me, you could have just said so." He cooed with a difficult to read expression due to the face mask, the dim blue lights of the room adding to the ominous feeling.

"AH!" Bri struggled for words but she was so taken aback. What she saw she couldn't process. Did his face, _move_?! Move. Off his head. No. "Cameras! There are cameras!" was all she could get out.

"And? You were the one who wanted to touch me." He held on to her wrist as she was precariously balanced.

"Misunderstanding. I meant nothing by it." She almost whispered, out of breath, as looked down and she tightly shut her eyes. Her heart beat fast as the minor aggression brought back memories just a few weeks old. She felt herself begin to shake.

"I wouldn't have minded if you had." His cold blue eyes felt like weights. It was as if she could feel exactly where his gaze was landing. He let go of her and she let out a gasp of air but remained leaning forward. "I wonder what perfume you wear, or do you wear perfume?" As he straightened his back, he took a measured step backwards to turn and look at some of the animal cages next to the negative air flow hood lab benches.

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The bar was loud with overworked grad students and post-docs. Cade sat next to Bri as everyone was either playing darts or pool.

"You okay, boss?" Cade eyed her. Bri had heard Jun mention something about the strange man to Cade.

"Yeah, that guy was just creepy today. He said that they will be contacting me later this week for a follow-up meeting at Xanatos E." Bri looked at the empty glasses on the table. "What do you think?"

"I trust your judgement, boss. He just seemed like just a serious guy to me, but you are younger than me and have a pretty good-sized lab. So. Who am I to say anything? Listen to your gut. It seems to be treating you well." Cade took a big swig out of his bottle of beer.

Bri was getting tired of the noise and decided to close the tab, pre-purchasing a couple of more rounds.

"That is not the case, Cade. I just stumble around." Bri paused a moment. "Anyways, I may not be in the lab tomorrow. I need to go pay some people a visit."

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"Offer her the best you can offer her." Owen stood next to Xanatos' desk. "That is my advice. And request. She has a great intuition. She will get results." He paused, "She is very…interesting."

"A little excited, Owen? This is unlike you. I didn't think you found anything that…appealing." Xanatos eyed his right-hand man pensively.

"Owen isn't interested." He said with a smile. "Oh, she is also acquaintances with Detective Maza. I thought you might find that useful to know."


End file.
